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Stan Musial Bridge Bill On Its Way To Mo. Gov. Nixon

MoDOT

Legislation is on its way to Governor Jay Nixon (D) that would name thenew Mississippi River Bridgebeing built at St. Louis for the late Cardinals slugger Stan "the Man" Musial.

House Bill 303 would also rename the stretch of I-70 that will cross the new bridge for construction worker Andy Gammon, who died last year while working on the bridge.  Governor Nixon is expected to sign the bill.  State Representative Rick Stream (R, Kirkwood) co-sponsored it.  He says, though, thatlawmakers in Illinois want the bridge to be called the "Veterans Memorial Bridge."

"You know, Stan, being the very humble man that he was, and a veteran, too, he probably wouldn’t care," Stream said.  "He probably doesn't care that we're talking about it at this point in time."

When asked, Stream said he would not have a problem with the bridge being named the "Stan Musial-Veterans Memorial Bridge."  Meanwhile, a spokesperson forIllinois Senator Dick Durbin(D) said recently that naming rights lie with Congress and the president, because the project was built with federal aid.

Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter:  @MarshallGReport

Marshal was a political reporter for St. Louis Public Radio until 2018.